ATLANTA (Dec. 29) - Georgia State opened its Holiday & Hoops Tournament with a 76-60 win over Mississippi Valley State Saturday afternoon. Toledo (11-1) hung on to top Charlotte (8-3), 76-66, in the second game.

Host GSU ran its home court record to a perfect 7-0 this season and overall record to 8-2 with today's tournament win. GSU advances to the championship game Sunday at 4 p.m. against Toledo, while MVSU will play in the consolation game at 2 p.m. against Charlotte. Toledo is No. 19 in the national RPI.

Four Panthers scored in double figures, topped by Tiffany Anderson and Kendra Long with 12 points each. Anderson had a double-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds, while adding five assists and three steals.

GSU started the game with a 13-0 run over the first four minutes before MVSU finally scored at 15:25. The host Panthers led 31-11 with five minutes to go in the half. GSU led 47-22 at the half. The Panthers built the lead to as large as 32 points, 58-26, before MVSU kept chipping away to the finish.

Georgia State held a 44-28 rebound advantage, while the Panther defense forced 21 turnovers and made 11 steals. GSU made 7-of-15 three-point baskets today, including 5-of-9 in the first half.

MVSU (3-7) got 11 points from reserve Derita Silas.

"We have got to have the same intensity whether we are up 30 points or down 30 points and we didn't have that all 40 minutes today," Coach Baldwin-Tener said. "I am glad to win by double figures, but I didn't like the way we finished in the second half."

"Tiffany Anderson had a good game and am proud of her leadership," Baldwin-Tener said. "She made the extra pass, she hit the boards, the shot the ball well and led the team when she was in the game."

"Our aggressive defense again got us started strong, but we tried other defenses with the young kids and we didn't figure those defenses out very quickly," Baldwin-Tener added. "We were too sloppy on both ends in the final 10 minutes."

TEAM NOTEBOOK:

The 76 points mark the 4th time this season with 70 or more points, all GSU wins.

The three-game win streak is one shy of the four-game streak earlier this season

The Panthers have led in double figures at halftime in all eight wins. The 25-point first half margin topped the 23-point lead against Florida A&M earlier this season.

GSU has outscored opponents by 115 points in the 10 games, 355-240.

GSU shot better than 45% in both halves tonight, finishing at 46.7% for the game, including 46.7% outside the 3-point line (7-of-15)

The Panthers have had a rebound advantage in 9 of the 10 games this season and have 79 more than the opponents on the season (44.9 to 37.0)

GSU edged back above .500 all-time with 522 wins, 521 losses.

The 32-point lead tonight was one shy of the 33 advantage vs. Florida A&M

All 10 players have averaged more than 13 minutes a game this year and all 10 have scored 33 points or more on the season